This invention relates to an apparatus for the production of fleece, for example, of glued wood chips or shavings, employed in the production of panels. The invention is particularly directed to a disorienting device, which may be employed for spreading wood chips or shavings received from a charging station onto a conveyor, such as a conveyor belt.
German published Patent Application 1,205,274 discloses an arrangement for the forming of panels from wood chips, wherein the wood chips are directed through a disorientation device for deposition on a conveyor belt. In accordance with arrangements disclosed in this reference, a vibrating screen is provided parallel to and above the conveyor belt. The wood chips to be deposited on the conveyor belt are directed downwardly from a position above the vibrating screen, and various means such as jets of air or rotating wheels are provided to disperse the falling wood chips so that they are spread across the top of the vibrating screen.
The disorientation or spreading devices provided in the above German Patent Publication are relatively expensive to fabricate. Further, in the arrangements of this reference, the various types of disorienting devices employed in the spreading station result in a reduction of the disorientation effect, so that the requisite disorientation of the place of deposit of the shavings, which can include dust, be it in the middle, top or finest top layer, for the provision of a uniform mass distribution is not attained. In the arrangements disclosed in this reference, the disorientation devices may cause the production of secondary currents, which likewise negatively influence the disoriented deposit of shavings and dust particles in the fleece.